Click ‘calculate’ and the calculator will tell you the amount of salt to use by weight in ounces or grams.

Fermented drinks require a 1% brine. Most whole-food pickles (cauliflower, broccoli, carrot, onion, etc.) require a 2%. Use 3.5% for pickled heritage-style cucumbers. New to fermenting olives? Use a 10% for a no-vinegar fermentation, which is worth the wait!

The Pickl-It Brine Calculator is calibrated only for the Pickl-It system. Mason-jar methods (with or without the airlock) are not capable of excluding oxygen and you must use more salt. We are not responsible for any outcomes – mold-growth, yeast-growth, bacterial-infection, histamine production – if the calculator is used for methods other than Pickl-It.

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http://www.pickl-it.com/blog/737/brine-calculator/
Thu, 15 Aug 2013 16:06:30 GMTMarktag:www.pickl-it.com,2011-09-04:5097e5b475016bc1005247fe6e9f8864/4690af2781bb1feb424561cddc294ebeNot Just Any Honey Will Do
Choose your honey carefully.]]>
I WILL arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there,of clay and wattles made;Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,And live alone in the bee-loud glade.And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;

There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,And evening full of the linnet's wings.I will arise and go now, for always night and day,I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,I hear it in the deep heart's core.

- Yeats, The Lake Isle of Innisfree

Half the world's population nowlive in an urban setting, forecast to increase to 80% by the year 2050. That's an awful lot of people p surrounded by "pavements gray", removed from the beauty and the joy of self-sufficiency beautifully described by Yeats. There will be no deep heart-core memories of either the sounds of nature, or the taste of its food.

Honey, a universal substance used by thousands of generations as food and medicine, is quickly being replaced with a substance and beekeeping practices, unfamiliar to our ancestors. In his book, Sweet Deception, Dr. Joseph Mercola states that nearly 2/3 of North American honey-producers force-feed high-fructose corn syrup to their bees. The result? Garbage-in, garbage-out.

China, the biggest producer of honey used by the food-processing industry, also uses high-fructose corn syrup to 'cut' or extend the honey, known as "honey laundering".

What consumers don’t know is that honey doesn’t usually come straight – or pure – from the hive. Giant steel drums of honey bound for grocery store shelves and the food processors that crank out your cereal are in constant flow through the global market. Most honey comes from China, where beekeepers are notorious for keeping their bees healthy with antibiotics banned in North America because they seep into honey and contaminate it; packers there learn to mask the acrid notes of poor quality product by mixing in sugar or corn-based syrups to fake good taste. None of this is on the label. Rarely will a jar of honey say “Made in China.” Honey Laundering

Just like with our milk, milk, poultry, eggs and most produce, we buy-fresh, buy-local, from farmers who respect the soil, animals and their customers, having a care for the health of all.

Honey is no different. It is only going to be as good as the beekeeping practices, the source of food for the bees, and the lack of synthetic pesticides, herbicides and antibiotics.

While rare, some honey can be poisoned, a fact first formally reported in 1794 by Barton, an early-American botanist. Neuro-toxins from Moutain Laurel (kalmia latifolia) and rhododendrons, may cause symptoms ranging from tingling extremeties to death.

I had the unpleasant and scary experience of tingling, numb toes, fingers and lips after tasting my first-ever bite of Mountain Laurel-tainted sourwood honey, purchased during a vacation in Tennessee. Evidently, my batch of honey wasn't tested by the beekeeper, using the most primitive of methods.

Some of the farmer beekeepers in localities where there is abundance of mountain laurel (kalmia latifolia) test the first honey harvested after the blooming of this plant by feeding some of it to a dog. If the dog can walk in thirty or forty minutes after eating a piece of the comb honey about three inches square, the beekeeper will let his children help themselves. If the dog gets so he can't walk, and acts as if he was suffering great pain, they dispose of the honey in some way other than using it as food. The ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture

Who knew finding healthy, properly created and harvested raw honey would be almost as difficult as finding good sources of raw milk. I documented and posted my research and findings here on Pickl-It. My hope is if it saves anyone else time, and the avoidance of numb wips - I mean lips - then it will be worth it!

* Creamed Honey Recipe - make your own creamed honey! This is the same technique used by beekeeper's to control the crystallization of their honey, moving it towards creamed, instead of rock-hard or oxidized liquid honey.

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http://www.pickl-it.com/blog/579/not-just-any-honey/
Sun, 02 Oct 2011 04:31:48 GMTKathleentag:www.pickl-it.com,2010-09-30:5097e5b475016bc1005247fe6e9f8864/6d9b83b2ddbad49977a949ec2aabe442Choose Local Honey
The most important ingredient in your creamed honey, is going to be a high-quality honey harvested within 25-miles of your home. It’s easiest to first interview local beekeepers over the phone, asking a few key questions…..]]>

The BBC documentary, Jimmy and the Wild Honey Hunters, provides a stunning look at traditional honey-hunting in Nepal. Climbing vertical rope-ladders, which eventually become their work-station, the hunters-turned-gatherers work suspended high above rock-floors, extending a long bamboo-spear to meticulously-cut honey-comb wedges from cave-embedded beehives.

This is as beautiful an example of “sustainable”, as one can find. For thousands of years, the soil, flowers and bees have faithfully carried on, crafting honey’s antimicrobial, antioxidant, and hygroscopic properties, creating a nutrient-dense treasure as useful for eating, as it is for medicine. Based on centuries of experience, these ancient-people continue in their traditional food-gathering, having no need for science to confirm what their bodies know – that this is food made to sustain life.

“Choose whole food sweeteners over refined. Natural, simple sugars are most abundant in fruits, raw honey, maple syrup, root vegetables, squash, and milk. Common sources of refined simple sugars that we should avoid are brown and white sugar, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, agave and yacon syrups. Naturally sweet foods are linked together with the vitamins, minerals, and enzymes needed for their digestion and assimilation by the body. In very moderate amounts in the context of a whole foods diet, these foods are healthful. But when the sugars in these foods are removed by refining, the sugars now exist separate from the nutrients. These “skeletonized” sugars work quite differently in the body, providing nothing but empty calories that drain the body’s nutrient reserves.” Modernizing Your Diet With Traditional Foods, Weston Price

I buy honey from several honey-hunters located within 25-miles of my home. Having no need for precarious rope ladders, my beekeepers are no less committed or passionate then are the tribes practicing ancient honey-hunting methods.

There are hundreds of apiary or beekeeper sites to be found on the internet, as well as numerous professional organizations offering educational material about honey’s qualities, benefits and at-home storage techniques.

Our every-day honey is a high-glucose variety, a common honey which dominates both the large and small-producer market.

“Glucose” in real, raw, unfiltered honey is naturally-occurring. In recent years, however, unscrupulous marketers, especially the Chinese, have added water to their high-glucose honey, or glucose syrup created from refined glucose, dextrose and maltose sugars.

Another unscrupulous “honey-laundering” tactic is the addition of high-fructose corn syrup, a cheap, unhealthy ingredient. The motive for engaging in such unethical and immoral business practices is greed-driven, with no regard for health.

It’s simple to find local beekeepers through internet searches using “apiary” or “beekeeper”, along with the name of your town or state.

Here’s a list of questions we’ve found beneficial in finding perfect honey….

Is their honey is raw and unfiltered honey (if not, move on to the next one on your list)

If they fumigated their honey against the wax moth (move on, if they have)

If and how heat was used in its extraction from the comb; if so, did the temperature exceed 100° F (move on, if above 100° F but best situation is no use of heat)

Most local apiaries have high-glucose honey available in liquid form, during harvest-time. To preserve their high-glucose harvest, it is crucial that they convert their liquid honey to a creamed-honey form. This is a preserving process done by controlling the natural, spontaneous crystallization process by adding a “starter” or a “seed”.

The source of the “starter” or “seed” may be from several sources: dextrose (avoid!), portions of last-year’s creamed honey (acceptable if it wasn’t created with dextrose), or even large-crystal rock-hard honey that has been finely powdered.

Creamed honey is labor-intensive, so expect to pay a higher price. If you’d rather create your own creamed honey, it is a fairly easy, straight-forward process following our recipes for Pickl-It Creamed Honey.

A word of caution: Dextrose

Be sure to ask your local beekeeper if they use a honey-based “seed”/“starter”, to create their creamed honey OR, instead, use powdered dextrose.

While dextrose is efficient, cost-effective, and more profitable for honey marketers, it is not a traditional honey-based “starter” or “seed”. (Source: “The ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture”, A.I. Root, E.R. Root, 2005, page 740)

Dextrose, often derived from corn, most of which is genetically modified, is not well-tolerated by people who have “gut” and digestion issues.

Because dextrose does not have to be listed on the ingredient label of creamed honey, the only way you’ll know if it was used, is to ask.

What’s In Your Honey? Maybe Chemical Fumigants Used to Control the Wax Moth – Several chemical fumigants effectively used in the past are aluminum phosphide, methyl bromide, ethylene dibromide (EDB) and paradichlorobenzene (PDB). Unfortunately, only two (aluminmum phosphide and PDB) remain legal, but their future is in doubt. The chances are good, therefore, that beekeepers will be left without any means to chemically control wax moth.)

Following traditional methods that use tannin-rich leaves in their ferments, which keep lacto-fermented foods crispy, as well as retaining their color (pickled green beans), we experimented with white oak leaves as they’re the most abundant. While they did keep the pickles good ‘n crispy, the astringent, bitter flavor was unpleasant, overpowering the normal spices and flavors we wanted to taste.

Next, we tried grape leaves.

We were pleasantly surprised with wild fox-grape leaves which didn’t disrupt the expected flavors – garlic, dill, and the pickling spice. We didn’t have to struggle through the bitter-tanning, dry-mouth taste of the white oak leaves!

Just like oak leaves, not all grape leaves are created equal, their tannin-levels varying depending on the variety. Experiment in small batches before committing your pickled cukes or green beans to one specific grape leaf.

Other tannin-rich leaf-options include raspberry and horseradish.

Scouting wild grape leaf sources….

Poison ivy and poison oak love to grow in berry and grape habitats, often becoming entangled. In our region, fox-grapes are prolific climbers, reaching as high as 30-feet, encircling utility poles as well as trees, are are often accompanied by vining poison ivy. In some instances such as this vining poison ivy it is difficult to tell whether the more-lobed leaf is poison ivy or one of the over 1,000 varieties of wild grape.

Make good use of the many internet sources available to you, as well as guide books. Here’s some good tips on wild-foraging.

We took a year to scout wild grapes, identifying them in spring (blossoms), summer (fruit) and fall (smell – exactly like grape jelly!).

Better yet? Grow your own! One small investment yields years of crispy-pickle grape leaves. You may want to plant several grape vines, as the early spring leaves – tender and juicy – are perfect for making homemade Greek Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves).

Confine a chicken (or duck or goose) to a crowded, sun-free containment setting, forcing it to eat an unnatural "vegetarian" diet of grains, and the end-product will be lipase-deficient eggs.

Allow poultry to run through sun-drenched grass pastures (30% of their diet should be grass) where they can freely feed on insects and bugs - their normal diet! - you'll benefit from lipase-rich eggs.

Lipase, richly available in raw, pastured egg yolk, is an important enzyme which breaks down and transport nutritional components. We've made it a habit to add raw eggs yolks into our salad dressings, a traditional recipe dating back to ancient Rome and Greece.

"Many people believe that the health benefits of egg yolks are greater when the yolks are consumed raw. Heat destroys enzymes, reduces the amounts of certain nutrients, and may make the amino acid cysteine less available, which is needed to synthesize the master antioxidant of the cell, glutathione.

Those who eat raw egg yolks report easier digestion, increased stamina, and resistance to illness — not to mention a quicker snack if they're on-the-go.

There is little evidence beyond such anecdotes that egg yolks are truly more beneficial when consumed raw."

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http://www.pickl-it.com/blog/711/pastured-eggs/
Mon, 27 Jun 2011 22:18:56 GMTKathleentag:www.pickl-it.com,2011-06-26:5097e5b475016bc1005247fe6e9f8864/2c45677c7a01e7f5791b2cbeffe1d893Are My Pickled Cukes "Done"?
Here’s a handy photo comparing “fresh” 3-day old naturally brine-cured cukes with those that are fully-cured. ]]>
Unlike modern cooking which is often precise, measuring baking time in minutes, and microwaving time in seconds, lacto-fermented foods are measured not by days, but instead, weeks, or even months and sometimes even years.

Sauerkraut should be aged, anywhere from 3 to 6-months – giving it enough time to synthesize Vitamin C, as well as neutralize a variety of “toxins” that form in the early stages.

Pepper mashes have long been compared to wine-making, where flavors and textures develop over long-periods of time – often several years.

Maybe that’s one of the reasons why pickling cukes have been popular in almost every culture throughout the history of the world. They’re more of the “fast-food” – instant gratification of lacto-fermented foods, ready for snacking in only 3-4 days. While the other ferments are taking their time, pickles provide a tangy-treat, as well as beneficial nutrients and probiotics.

If you’re new to lacto-fermentation, it’s good to get into the habit of smelling, tasting. Cutting pickles open offers a unique inside-look at fermentation stages, something not easily seen in other foods.

The pickle-comparison photo compares “fresh pack” or “fresh pickles”, on the left – still in the early stages of fermentation – with fully brine-cured pickled cukes on the right.

They are very different in every possible way – taste, smell, texture and appearance. We’ve always made extra, “sacrificing” a few every week to learn about the various stages.

Now we make extra because we enjoy the flavor of the fresh-cured. In a way, they’re like the other short summer “crops” that are only available for a short period of time hroughout the summer – dandelion greens, rhubarb, English peas, raspberries, scape, and now the “fresh” pickle, a refreshing, cooling treat in the middle of the summer heat.

“No cook who has attained mastery over her craft ever apologizes for the presence of garlic in her productions.” – Ruth Gottfried, ‘The Questing Cook’ (1927)

Garlic deserves a place at the breakfast, lunch and dinnertable which is why we keep so much of it on-hand. Whether clove, scape or whole-head, garlic offers a powerful package of complex chemicals that can be manipulated through crushing, cutting, steaming, heating and our favorite – naturally-pickled in our Pickl-It!

Helpful for preventing and reducing the life of the common cold1, as well as offering antibacterial2, antiviral, and antifungal, immune-strengthening, as well as possible anti-cancer properties3, garlic’s time-honored benefits are as important today, as they were centuries ago.

Keep a variety of garlic on-hand, ready-for-use

Raw, whole-heads, may be eaten plain (although they may cause stomach-upset in some, especially children) or for cooking, or baking whole, then squeezing their individual butter-like cloves onto sourdough bread; shelf-life: 6-months

Sliced and dehydrated, its water removed which places the garlic in a suspended state of animation, dehydrated garlic is still considered to be a “living” food, rich in enzymes, minerals and nutrients; handy for adding to soups, stews or sauces, or grinding, as needed, into garlic powder; shelf-life: 5-years

Lacto-fermented (cold-aging) garlic cloves in combination with their brine4, are a complex, ever-changing array of nutrients including riboflavin, tocopherol and most amino acids – although they lack Vitamin C – as well as providing natural probiotic benefits; while fermented cloves are considered to still be “raw”, they lack the odor, harsh flavor, and stomach-setting qualities of fresh garlic; shelf-life: 2 years or longer, depending on fermentation quality and storage conditions

Bottom line – if you’re looking for a good way to preserve garlic’s B and C-vitamins, lacto-fermented is not the best way to go. But if you’re like us, and get plenty of B1 and C-vitamins in other fermented foods (sauerkraut! kimchi! kefir!) try creating your own Pickl-It pickled garlic, as easy as combining peeled garlic cloves, salt, water and a Pickl-It container!

Garlic Health Benefits – health benefits as well as interesting information on topic use of garlic as a way to get it into the system faster as well as infusing wine, as another means of speeding it up into the system (since allicin, the key component is usually neutralized or greatly reduced by saliva and the stomach’s digestive enzymes, not necessarily making it into the digestive tract, etc.)

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http://www.pickl-it.com/blog/525/keep-garlic-on-hand-raw-dehydrated-pickled/
Sun, 25 Jul 2010 07:38:29 GMTKathleentag:www.pickl-it.com,2010-07-22:5097e5b475016bc1005247fe6e9f8864/9b4888724420af6a0605c71dc77bc001Pickl-It For Pets
Digestive systems – canine, psittacine or human – all benefit from properly-prepared lacto-fermented foods. ]]>
A little over 20-years ago, parrots found their way into our hearts and home. Parrot breeders, at the time, were on the cusp of discovering better feeding practices, providing living-nutrient, whole-foods for their flocks.

Avian veterinarians, however, protested the move away from processed, extruded pellets and fortified seed mixes, with one of them explaining his thinking to us –

“People may start off with good intentions, feeding their birds a whole-food, healthy diet, but providing consistently healthy-food takes a lot of work. Sooner or later, people slack-off, not making the same effort. Birds suffer…develop disease from malnourishment…most are difficult to cure. Even though parrots develops yeast and bacterial infections on the pellet-diets, I can patch them up every year or so with antibiotics…”….

I encountered the same mindset from a developmental pediatrician who was evaluating our son’s gut-disorder, common to Autism Spectrum Disorders. When I mentioned our straight-off-the-organic-farm, whole-food, nutrient-dense diet, he responded –

“I’ve had many clients who have good intentions, and while I admire your spirit and desire to do the best for your son – because there’s nothing as good as what you’re describing – I have to warn you, it’s a lot of work and processed foods are easier….”….

We didn’t want patched-up-parrots. And we didn’t want patched-up people.

If we were going to dice, chop, and grate fresh foods for our parrots, we could certainly do that for ourselves.

Out went the factory-processed, chemical-laden foods, for human and parrot alike, and in came fresh, off-the-farm foods. A real bonus was the benefit we all received – parrots, poodle and human alike – from our Pickl-It lacto-fermented foods.

A teaspoon of brine, added to the parrot-diet – freshly germinated seeds, grains and legumes – along with some of the lacto-fermented vegetables including carrots, beets, and even sauerkraut, make for happy birds.

The poodle prefers his brine and veggies served with his raw meat, beneficial for helping his digestion break down the proteins. Whether feathered or furry, all of them recognize when kefir is being served, begging, until they’ve had their fair share.

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http://www.pickl-it.com/blog/520/pickl-it-for-pets/
Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:02:07 GMTKathleentag:www.pickl-it.com,2010-07-15:5097e5b475016bc1005247fe6e9f8864/5df151423ef7e1d62bfe75a2ba255ac3Open Crocks are a Crock
I didn’t intentionally set out to be stiff-necked, not following the ancient paths of wisdom. I thought that by seeking the counsel of my modern peers, that I was fast-tracking my way back to the ancient brine-cured kosher dill pickles created by my European ancestors. ]]>
“Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.” Jeremiah 6:16

I didn’t intentionally set out to be stiff-necked, not following the ancient paths of wisdom. I thought that by seeking the counsel of my fermentation-experienced peers, I was fast-tracking my way back to creating ancient brine-cured kosher dill pickles of my European ancestors.

Thinking that others were offering advice based on well-studied wisdom, I tried their methods – open bowl, open crocks, and screw-on lid (plastic or two-part metal) canning jars – which resulted in limp, off-tasting, splotchy pickling cukes that weren’t even in the same century as my grandmother’s closed-crock, brine-cured cukes. The skimming of scum and fretting over mold was stressful!

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Proverbs 14:12

Taking time off from failed-batches to study European food blogs, antique cookbooks, and brushing up on my microbiology, it didn’t take long to discover the advice I’d received was nothing but a modern myth based on what a friend calls “magical thinking” which goes like this: as long as the vegetables are kept under the brine, it doesn’t matter if oxygen has access to the top of the brine because conditions under the brine are “anaerobic”.

That’s mind-numbingly incorrect.

Just last week, I heard another version of this myth which goes like this: lactic acid bacteria need access to oxygen across the brine so they can selectively grab lactic-acid bacteria from the oxygen in order to perform certain functions.

I don’t know what the motive is for people to ignore the easily-accessible, good science that is readily-available emphasizing the importance of maintaining an air-free fermenting environment.

…“it is of major importance that the air is removed as much as possible…”

…“it is of the utmost importance to exclude air in order to support the subsequent lactic acid fermentation and to prevent mold and yeast growth

….“the surface of the filled containers must be covered carefully in order to exclude oxygen and microbial contamination”…..

…“when the number of strictly aerobic bacteria (those that need oxygen) such as Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium and Acinetobacter species decrease immediately due to anaerobiosis (no oxygen) rapidly attained…with consumption of oxygen by facultative anaerobic enterobacteria accompanied by a pH change (due to lactic, acetic, formic and succinic acids formed)…”

…”..Lc mesenteroides – a heterofermentative lactic-acid bacteria, produces lactic and acetic acids that quickly lower the pH, producing carbon dioxide that take the place of oxygen, stabilizing ascorbic and dehydro-ascorbic acid (vitamin C)…”

Additionally, a crucial part of successful lacto-fermentation is the “headspace” above the brine. In a locked-down, “positive seal” (no inflow of oxygen) vessel like the Pickl-It, volatile sulfur compounds (hydrogen sulfide, methanethio, dimethyl sulfide and allyl isothiocyanate) collect in the region above the brine, having a positive, beneficial impact on the final flavor profiles.

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http://www.pickl-it.com/blog/513/open-crocks-are-a-crock/
Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:41:12 GMTKathleentag:www.pickl-it.com,2010-07-08:5097e5b475016bc1005247fe6e9f8864/b6a6a7693ba4c64fc2fd3cbaa12e0bf1Picking a Pepper for Pickl-It
Baskets of assorted peppers can be intimidating, but if you take a moment to look through a good “pepper primer,” you’ll quickly become a pepper-pro!]]>
To get started, pick a pepper to pickle….

First, know your pepper! Baskets of assorted peppers can be intimidating, but if you take a moment to look through a good pepper primer, you’ll quickly become a pepper-pro!

Be sure to choose the right pepper for the right purpose! Here’s a quick glimpse of the most commonly-available peppers and their uses: fresh, dried, and fermented:

Anaheim: Very mild; 6-8 inches in size; deep, shiny green. Often stuffed or added to salsas.

Ancho: Dried or fresh poblano pepper. Dried anchos are flat, wrinkled, and heart shaped. They range in color from very dark red to almost black. Anchos are mild to moderately hot and often soaked and ground for use in sauces.

Cayenne: From four to twelve inches in length. Deep green, yellow, orange, or red. Long, skinny, and wrinkled in appearance. Hot in taste.

Cherry: Round and red like a cherry. Sold fresh or pickled in jars, these peppers range from mild to moderately hot.

Jalapeno: Most often green when mature but sometimes red. They are very hot, with an immediate bite. Use whenever recipe simply calls for hot chile peppers. They can be fresh or canned. When smoked, jalapenos are called chipotles.

Poblano: Poblano peppers look like small bell peppers and are mild to hot on the hotness scale. They can be fresh or canned.

Serrano: Sold red or mature green and about 1 to 4 inches in length. Moderate to very hot with an intense bite. Can be found canned, pickled, or packed in oil with vegetables. Often served in Thai or Mexican dishes.

1. Self-brining: Cabbage (sauerkraut) and beets are great examples of two vegetables that make their own brine; salt draws the water from their cells, a process known as “dry-brining”. You shouldn’t need to add any additional liquid.

2. Half-sour brine: used for all other vegetables, this water/salt mixture is added to chopped, sliced, diced or even whole vegetables, such as shredded carrots, whole green beans, garlic, cauliflower, pearl onions, ginger, broccoli, etc.

With very little effort on your part – latch the cover, and fill the airlock with water – the Pickl-It closed-fermentation system, efficiently creates an anaerobic environment, crucial for . These microbial powerhouses are responsible for producing abundant lactic acid for consistently good flavor, texture and color.

“…investigations have shown that potassium is required for growth of Streptococcus faecalis, and Lactobacillus casei, while magnesium and manganese are essential for growth of Lactobacillus plantarum and is Lactobacillus casein, and various other lactic acid bacteria.” Orla-Jensen, S., K. Danske Vidensk. Selak., Biol. Skrifter, 2, No. 3, 1943

Minerals increase the strength and power of the LAB. And one of the best, most traditional, time-honored sources of minerals has always been salt – ocean brine or rock salt.

Don’t forget to place 2 tablespoons water in your Pickl-It airlock! The airlock removes oxygen from the Pickl-It fermentation system, eliminating histamine development and other toxins.

Temperatures between 68 and 72F are ideal for making sauerkraut. Any warmer, and fermentation happens too quickly. Any cooler, and fermentation slows down.

“Older” cabbages – those not fresh from harvest – make better sauerkraut, because they’ve had time to age, creating more sugar which is good for feeding the lactic-acid bacteria.

We like cabbages in the 3-4 pound range. Any larger, they may taste more bitter, making a “spicier” sauerkraut that children don’t like as well.

Weigh your cabbage AFTER you’ve sliced it.

Select the correct size Pickl-It based on capacity

For every 5-lbs of grated cabbage, use 22 grams of sea salt. Do not use any salt with a pigment. This will discolor your brine.

Layer the finely-threaded cabbage with the salt. Do not mash, beat, or pulverize. Let the salt extract the liquid from the cabbage, creating the brine.

The best cut is a “thread” cut – thin strands of cabbage of equal widths.

We highly recommend either a 3-blade authentic cabbage cutter, or astainless steel mandolin in either an angled or horizontal-fixed blade.

Mandolin cutting techniques are describedhere.

We also recommend not reducing, or eliminating the use of salt.Lactic-acid bacteriabenefit from the minerals in unrefined, high-quality sea salt.

Do not use salt that is refined, or contains anti-caking agents.

Keep all food under the brine, usingthis technique.

Sometimes, a harmless fungus – a translucent, waxy “pancake” formation – develops on top your kraut. Simply scoop it off, or it will negatively affect the flavor.

Storing kraut in Pickl-It container: All Pickl-It sauerkraut should be stored in a Pickl-It. It’s important for oxygen to be pushed up and out of the Pickl-It jar after removing saurkraut or its juice.

Please remember to always place a cover around the Pickl-It to block out light. Do NOT place a cover over the airlock.

– More information on proper cutting techniques.

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http://www.pickl-it.com/blog/331/sauerkraut-tips/
Sat, 09 Jan 2010 07:08:31 GMTKathleentag:www.pickl-it.com,2009-12-24:5097e5b475016bc1005247fe6e9f8864/3667c06a8fb181bbd469ac5426d937feCreating Sauerkraut Thread-Cuts With a Mandolin
I prefer a multitasker, having tested a number of kitchen tools, that can also create a thin, cabbage-thread, so for me, the mandolin is the best possible tool.]]>

There was a perfectly good, logical reason my grandmother used a traditional angled-blade kraut cutter, the same way the family had made it for 8-generations. The angled blade shaved portions from the twisting, tumbling leaf stalks and leaf blades, cutting on the bias of the cabbage grains, creating uniformly thin, wispy “threads”.

These “threads” were the secret behind every single batch of my grandmother’s kraut tasting the same from one family dinner to the next. Without fail, whenever my grandfather took his first bite of sauerkraut, he would give a quick, approving nod in my grandmother’s direction, saying, “Jah. Tastes like home.”

While they didn’t know the microbiology of “why” thin, uniformly-cut cabbage threads made consistent-textured and flavored sauerkraut, Grandma had good observation skills, an important skill when practicing food “science”.

“They are cut nice and thin”, she instructed, in her still-heavy German accent, “they all must become sauerkraut together, at the same time – otherwise, if some are thick, and some are thin, then parts are too mushy, and some too crunchy, and that is never good sauerkraut.”

Lactic acid helps to maintain a good pH which preserves flavor, texture and color

When drawing the cabbage wedge through the slicing blade, the wedge needs to be held at different angles and positions, depending on whether you are using an angled or horizontal-blade mandolin.

Angled Mandolin Blade

To use an angled blade, simply quarter your cabbage, then place the quarter, flat-face down on your mandolin’s cutting bed, pushing – not pressing – it through the angled blade.

The angled blade cuts across the face of the cabbage in a bias-cut, dissecting the wide leaf-stems, woven throughout the cabbage, whittling them down to thread-cut size.

The ideal thickness is 1mm, so adjust the blade opening to achieve that size. If you are still not able to obtain uniform “wispy” threads of cabbage, or your cabbage wedge is binding in the blade, use the technique described the, “Horizontal Blade”.

Horizontal Mandolin Blade

Whether your mandolin’s straight-slicing blade is horizontal or angled, you can achieve the perfect thread cut when you drag the edge of the cabbage wedge through the mandolin. The “edge” is the rim between the smooth outer leaves and the exposed cut face of the cabbage head.

In the beginning, I dragged the cabbage “face” across the horizontal blade, ending up with linguine-width chunks of cabbage instead of wispy threads. Yet other times, my “wedge” stuck in the blade, requiring a few smacks from a wooden mallet to release it.

I’ve worked with fabric my entire life, and suddenly realized there’s a “grain” – crosswise, lengthwise and bias – which also runs throughout vegetable fibers! Drawing the cabbage “edge” at a 40-degree angle across the horizontal blade, I watched as beautiful thin, slivers – threads of cabbage – appeared.

Key To Thread Cut: When using a horizontal-blade, don’t slice across the flat-face of the cabbage wedge. Instead, draw the “edge” against the blade at a 40-degree angle.

You know you are cutting correctly, when the cabbage threads separate from the cabbage, as easily as a hot knife draws through butter. Unlike trying to struggle with a flat-face of the cabbage, which usually becomes stuck, and takes a great deal more strength and effort, cutting the outer rim, is now relaxing.

Use a light touch when slicing without pushing the wedge down into the blade

Do not force the cabbage through the blade, or you’ll end up with pieces that are too thick.

Take time to feel the grain of the cabbage. You should get the sensation you are unzipping the threads from the cabbages leaves.

The sound made by the “unzipping” is the same one I remember when watching my grandmother cutting cabbage threads with her kraut cutter. The “threads” consistently create a “tastes like home” flavor that was the same as my grandmother’s!

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http://www.pickl-it.com/blog/326/creating-sauerkraut-thread-cuts-mandolin/
Mon, 04 Jan 2010 06:26:49 GMTKathleentag:www.pickl-it.com,2009-12-23:5097e5b475016bc1005247fe6e9f8864/f286d30e732db79e29050255d134c7e6Fruit Flies & Acetic Acid - Not Your Friends
An easy solution, in keeping “pokies” under the brine, is to criss-cross thin slices of carrots, turnips, celery, or any number of other vegetables, across the top of the vegetables. Remember, place the Dunk’R back on top, to weigh everything down.]]>

The Pickl-ItDunk’R was created to weigh vegetables down, keeping them under the brine. There are times, however, when smaller cuts bob to the surface, poking above the brine around the edges of the Dunk’R.

An easy solution, in keeping “pokies” under the brine, is to criss-cross thin slices of carrots, turnips, celery, or any number of other vegetables, across the top of the vegetables needing to be held under the brine. Remember, place the Dunk’R on top the criss-crossed strips, to weigh everything down.

Be sure to leave some airspace when you’re criss-crossing your vegetable slices, so that the oxygen and gases have an escape route!

No matter which container you use for lacto-fermentation, whether it is a Pickl-It, or an open-bowl or crock system, it is always a bad idea to completely cover the vegetable surface with plastic bags, cabbage leaves, plates, etc., blocking the discharge of oxygen and gases which will cause discoloration, off-flavors, and sometimes slimy textures.

For photography purposes, we left the ends of the carrot strips sticking up above the brine surface. These ends MUST be trimmed – either snipped off with a kitchen shears, or a sharp knife, and then tucked in under the brine.

]]>
http://www.pickl-it.com/blog/330/acetic-acid-not-your-friend/
Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:50:32 GMTKathleentag:www.pickl-it.com,2009-12-24:5097e5b475016bc1005247fe6e9f8864/1b773f846659fd0ede3b6ec4cef044d5Great Sauerkraut Begins with the Cut
An easy solution, in keeping “pokies” under the brine, is to criss-cross thin slices of carrots, turnips, celery, or any number of other vegetables, across the top of the vegetables. Remember, place the Dunk’R back on top, to weigh everything down.]]>

The Pickl-ItDunk’R was created to weigh vegetables down, keeping them under the brine. There are times, however, when smaller cuts bob to the surface, poking above the brine around the edges of the Dunk’R.

An easy solution, in keeping “pokies” under the brine, is to criss-cross thin slices of carrots, turnips, celery, or any number of other vegetables, across the top of the vegetables needing to be held under the brine. Remember, place the Dunk’R on top the criss-crossed strips, to weigh everything down.

Be sure to leave some airspace when you’re criss-crossing your vegetable slices, so that the oxygen and gases have an escape route!

No matter which container you use for lacto-fermentation, whether it is a Pickl-It, or an open-bowl or crock system, it is always a bad idea to completely cover the vegetable surface with plastic bags, cabbage leaves, plates, etc., blocking the discharge of oxygen and gases which will cause discoloration, off-flavors, and sometimes slimy textures.

For photography purposes, we left the ends of the carrot strips sticking up above the brine surface. These ends MUST be trimmed – either snipped off with a kitchen shears, or a sharp knife, and then tucked in under the brine.

]]>
http://www.pickl-it.com/blog/321/sauerkraut-thread-cut/
Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:05:32 GMTKathleentag:www.pickl-it.com,2009-12-19:5097e5b475016bc1005247fe6e9f8864/d3d64a68b9bf55875e4d611bad0feb4bHow do I make a brine for sauerkraut and beets?
An easy solution, in keeping “pokies” under the brine, is to criss-cross thin slices of carrots, turnips, celery, or any number of other vegetables, across the top of the vegetables. Remember, place the Dunk’R back on top, to weigh everything down.]]>

The Pickl-ItDunk’R was created to weigh vegetables down, keeping them under the brine. There are times, however, when smaller cuts bob to the surface, poking above the brine around the edges of the Dunk’R.

An easy solution, in keeping “pokies” under the brine, is to criss-cross thin slices of carrots, turnips, celery, or any number of other vegetables, across the top of the vegetables needing to be held under the brine. Remember, place the Dunk’R on top the criss-crossed strips, to weigh everything down.

Be sure to leave some airspace when you’re criss-crossing your vegetable slices, so that the oxygen and gases have an escape route!

No matter which container you use for lacto-fermentation, whether it is a Pickl-It, or an open-bowl or crock system, it is always a bad idea to completely cover the vegetable surface with plastic bags, cabbage leaves, plates, etc., blocking the discharge of oxygen and gases which will cause discoloration, off-flavors, and sometimes slimy textures.

For photography purposes, we left the ends of the carrot strips sticking up above the brine surface. These ends MUST be trimmed – either snipped off with a kitchen shears, or a sharp knife, and then tucked in under the brine.

]]>
http://www.pickl-it.com/blog/319/brine-sauerkraut-beets/
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:45:50 GMTKathleentag:www.pickl-it.com,2009-12-16:5097e5b475016bc1005247fe6e9f8864/bbbab8c37327248264e16704420691dbThe best tool for cutting cabbage = mandolins!
An easy solution, in keeping “pokies” under the brine, is to criss-cross thin slices of carrots, turnips, celery, or any number of other vegetables, across the top of the vegetables. Remember, place the Dunk’R back on top, to weigh everything down.]]>

The Pickl-ItDunk’R was created to weigh vegetables down, keeping them under the brine. There are times, however, when smaller cuts bob to the surface, poking above the brine around the edges of the Dunk’R.

An easy solution, in keeping “pokies” under the brine, is to criss-cross thin slices of carrots, turnips, celery, or any number of other vegetables, across the top of the vegetables needing to be held under the brine. Remember, place the Dunk’R on top the criss-crossed strips, to weigh everything down.

Be sure to leave some airspace when you’re criss-crossing your vegetable slices, so that the oxygen and gases have an escape route!

No matter which container you use for lacto-fermentation, whether it is a Pickl-It, or an open-bowl or crock system, it is always a bad idea to completely cover the vegetable surface with plastic bags, cabbage leaves, plates, etc., blocking the discharge of oxygen and gases which will cause discoloration, off-flavors, and sometimes slimy textures.

For photography purposes, we left the ends of the carrot strips sticking up above the brine surface. These ends MUST be trimmed – either snipped off with a kitchen shears, or a sharp knife, and then tucked in under the brine.

]]>
http://www.pickl-it.com/blog/339/best-tool-cutting-cabbage-mandolin/
Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:32:57 GMTKathleentag:www.pickl-it.com,2010-01-04:5097e5b475016bc1005247fe6e9f8864/0c8181ec08ae136c8086adb9365adc60Finally, A Salad....
An easy solution, in keeping “pokies” under the brine, is to criss-cross thin slices of carrots, turnips, celery, or any number of other vegetables, across the top of the vegetables. Remember, place the Dunk’R back on top, to weigh everything down.]]>

The Pickl-ItDunk’R was created to weigh vegetables down, keeping them under the brine. There are times, however, when smaller cuts bob to the surface, poking above the brine around the edges of the Dunk’R.

An easy solution, in keeping “pokies” under the brine, is to criss-cross thin slices of carrots, turnips, celery, or any number of other vegetables, across the top of the vegetables needing to be held under the brine. Remember, place the Dunk’R on top the criss-crossed strips, to weigh everything down.

Be sure to leave some airspace when you’re criss-crossing your vegetable slices, so that the oxygen and gases have an escape route!

No matter which container you use for lacto-fermentation, whether it is a Pickl-It, or an open-bowl or crock system, it is always a bad idea to completely cover the vegetable surface with plastic bags, cabbage leaves, plates, etc., blocking the discharge of oxygen and gases which will cause discoloration, off-flavors, and sometimes slimy textures.

For photography purposes, we left the ends of the carrot strips sticking up above the brine surface. These ends MUST be trimmed – either snipped off with a kitchen shears, or a sharp knife, and then tucked in under the brine.

]]>
http://www.pickl-it.com/blog/198/finally-a-salad/
Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:29:01 GMTKathleentag:www.pickl-it.com,2009-10-14:5097e5b475016bc1005247fe6e9f8864/cbcccd5bd1697473f491c1f5ef937d5cRed Lentil Dosas (Adai) Made Easy!
An easy solution, in keeping “pokies” under the brine, is to criss-cross thin slices of carrots, turnips, celery, or any number of other vegetables, across the top of the vegetables. Remember, place the Dunk’R back on top, to weigh everything down.]]>

The Pickl-ItDunk’R was created to weigh vegetables down, keeping them under the brine. There are times, however, when smaller cuts bob to the surface, poking above the brine around the edges of the Dunk’R.

An easy solution, in keeping “pokies” under the brine, is to criss-cross thin slices of carrots, turnips, celery, or any number of other vegetables, across the top of the vegetables needing to be held under the brine. Remember, place the Dunk’R on top the criss-crossed strips, to weigh everything down.

Be sure to leave some airspace when you’re criss-crossing your vegetable slices, so that the oxygen and gases have an escape route!

No matter which container you use for lacto-fermentation, whether it is a Pickl-It, or an open-bowl or crock system, it is always a bad idea to completely cover the vegetable surface with plastic bags, cabbage leaves, plates, etc., blocking the discharge of oxygen and gases which will cause discoloration, off-flavors, and sometimes slimy textures.

For photography purposes, we left the ends of the carrot strips sticking up above the brine surface. These ends MUST be trimmed – either snipped off with a kitchen shears, or a sharp knife, and then tucked in under the brine.

]]>
http://www.pickl-it.com/blog/178/red-lentil-dosas-adai-made-easy/
Sun, 04 Oct 2009 04:43:34 GMTKathleentag:www.pickl-it.com,2009-10-01:5097e5b475016bc1005247fe6e9f8864/66b3e0faf3b8635c4fe1978ed31d0ae3Crisp Pickles - Oak Leaves Experiment
An easy solution, in keeping “pokies” under the brine, is to criss-cross thin slices of carrots, turnips, celery, or any number of other vegetables, across the top of the vegetables. Remember, place the Dunk’R back on top, to weigh everything down.]]>

The Pickl-ItDunk’R was created to weigh vegetables down, keeping them under the brine. There are times, however, when smaller cuts bob to the surface, poking above the brine around the edges of the Dunk’R.

An easy solution, in keeping “pokies” under the brine, is to criss-cross thin slices of carrots, turnips, celery, or any number of other vegetables, across the top of the vegetables needing to be held under the brine. Remember, place the Dunk’R on top the criss-crossed strips, to weigh everything down.

Be sure to leave some airspace when you’re criss-crossing your vegetable slices, so that the oxygen and gases have an escape route!

No matter which container you use for lacto-fermentation, whether it is a Pickl-It, or an open-bowl or crock system, it is always a bad idea to completely cover the vegetable surface with plastic bags, cabbage leaves, plates, etc., blocking the discharge of oxygen and gases which will cause discoloration, off-flavors, and sometimes slimy textures.

For photography purposes, we left the ends of the carrot strips sticking up above the brine surface. These ends MUST be trimmed – either snipped off with a kitchen shears, or a sharp knife, and then tucked in under the brine.